Hundreds to Rally at Oregon State Capitol at on Thursday to Urge Governor Brown to Put an End to Jordan Cove LNG

posted by Allie Rosenbluth | 950sc
January 10, 2018

On Thursday, January 11, hundreds from Oregon and Northern California will gather on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol Building in Salem to ask Governor Brown to stand up for the climate by using the state’s authority to stop the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector Pipeline for good.

A rally on the Capitol steps will start at 12:30 pm Thursday and will include live music, street theatre, and speakers including former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, State Representative Pam Marsh, and youth from impacted communities. The rally coincides with the release of a report from Oil Change International that details the climate impacts of this proposal from fracking to the burning of gas overseas.

After two failures, the last resulting from a project denial from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Pembina Corporation revived the project for a third time in Spring 2017. Since then, rural landowners, tribal representatives, youth, environmental advocates, and other residents have mobilized to stop the project.

In early December, Senator Jeff Merkley joined the opposition, saying, “I cannot turn away from the knowledge that, like other large-scale fossil fuel projects, Jordan Cove will contribute massively to pollution that is profoundly damaging our state and our world. Generations from now, our grandchildren will wonder why we continued to burn fossil fuels when the catastrophic consequences were so evident.”

According to findings from the Oil Change International report, the LNG project would make it incredibly challenging, if not impossible for the state to meet climate action goals established by Gov. Brown and by the legislature, while providing no energy supply for the state. Gov. Brown has consistently called for strong climate action and even attended the Paris Climate talks in Bonn, Germany in November 2017. “Future generations will judge us not on the fact of global climate change, but on what we do to tackle it,” Brown told the City Club of Portland on June 2.

“We need Governor Brown to stand up for property rights, tribal rights, the environment, and the climate over corporate special interests,” said Hannah Sohl, Director of Rogue Climate. “There is no way to be a climate leader and stay neutral on the Jordan Cove project.”

“The State of Oregon, with Governor Brown as its most powerful officer, has the authority to deny permits, easements, and permissions for the Jordan Cove Project,” said Nicholas Caleb, Staff Attorney at the Center for Sustainable Economy. “This project would harm Oregon’s waters, lands, tidelands, and air in ways inconsistent with state law. It would also add enormous and unnecessary risks to a region already suffering from terrible wildfires and preparing for an enormous earthquake and tsunami.”

Resources:Link to the Oil Change International report here. The report will be live at 12:01am on Thursday, January 11.